Drill stem wiper



Jan. 1, 1952 M. A. BRYAN 2,580,727

DRILL STEM WIPER Filed Aug. 26, 1946 2 SHEETS-SHEET l 7 FIG. 2

Noa e. fl. Bryan,

INVENTOR,

ATTORNEY Jan. 1, 1952 'M. A. BRYAN 2,580,727

DRILL STEM WIPER Filed Aug. 26, 1946 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 M052 fl. Bryan.

INVENTOR,

ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 1, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DRILL. S.TEM.WIBER Mose A. Bryan, Oklahoma City, Okla.

Application August 26, 1946;.Serial nmesaosa 4 Claims. 1. My invention relates to wipers for drill stem in rotary oil well drilling.

In rotary well drilling, the drilling string or stem-extends from the earths surface to thebottom of the well, and is rotated to drive the drill; bit carried by its lower end. The. drilling is done with the well filled with. drilling fluid or mud, and consequently when it becomes necessary towithdraw the string from the well, it is advantageous that a means be provided for wiping the mud from the stem before its sections are disconnected above the derrick floor.

It is common practice to accomplish the wiping operation by providing a heavy resilient disc of rubber or canvas around the drill stem. The disc is located below the rotary table, and is of suflicient diameter that it cannot pass upwardly therethrough, and consequently when the stem is drawn upwardly, the disc contacts and is stopped by the lower surface of the table and the stem is therefore drawn through the disc, wiping the adhering mud from the stem.

Such discs are quite expensive, and when worn out by the frequent passage of the enlarged drill stem joints therethrough, must be replaced in their entirety.

The principal object of the present invention, is to provide a drill stem wiper of this class which is made partially of a metal ring, the central stem contacting portion being made of replaceable resilient material.

Another object is to provide a positive means for removably mounting the resilient central portion within the metal ring portion.

A further object is to provide, in the central portion, a means for weakening the same radially, so that it will not be unduly damaged by passage of the enlarged drill stem joints.

Other objects will be apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying single sheet of drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a top view of the improved wiper;

Figures 2 and 3 are vertical sectional views respectively taken along the lines 2-2 and 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view detailing the resilient central portion of the wiper;

Figure 5 is a bottom view of the annular ring portion of the device; and,

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the resilient body portion of the device.

Like characters of reference designate like parts in those figures of the drawings in which they occur.

In the drawings:

The reference numeral 2 indicates, as a whole. an annular metal ring having a plurality of dove-tailed cavities 2 cut upwardly in its nether 2. surface, and. emanating, outwardly from its inner diametrical edge 3. Adjacent the center of each cavity. the ring is provided with a through bore or perforation 4,. and therearound, and enlarged counter-sink: 5 formed in. the upper surfaceofi the ring.

The; device further includes a. disc-like body 6.. of some; suitable resilient or flexible material.

suchrubber, rubber composition, laminated; canvass, or a combination thereof. The body 6 is annular in form, with an outer circumference barely smaller than the inside diameter of the ring I, so that it may closely nest therein, and its periphery is provided with a plurality of radially spaced wedge-shaped projections I which are of such dimension and so spaced, both radially and vertically, that they closely nest in the cavities 2 when the body is placed within the ring l. Each of the projections 1 has a through perforation 8, and these perforations align with the perforations 4 in the ring when the body 6 is placed in the ring.

The body 6 has a central or axial through bore 9, and therearound is a circle of smaller bores or perforations l0. In order to weaken the central portion of the body 6, it is sliced or cut from the bore 9 to each of the perforations ll]. These lines of cleavage are indicated by the reference numeral II, and each of the cuts is made along an arcuate plane lying at an angle to the axis of the body.

The device of the invention further includes a plain metal annular retaining ring 12 which is of the same size as the ring I but of less thickness. The retaining ring is adapted to be placed around the lower portion of the body 6 and to engage the lower surfaces of the projections l to retain the body 6 within the ring I when bolts or rivets l3 are inserted as shown in Figure 2.

It is thought that operation of the device is readily obvious to anyone versed in the art. The drill stem is merely inserted through the axial bore 9 of the body 6. The bore 9 is slightly smaller than the outside diameter of the drill stem, and therefore wipes the drilling fluid from the stem as it is drawn upwardly therethrough. The cuts H in the body permit its distortion to permit passage of the enlarged drill stem joints.

When the body 6 wears sufiiciently to prevent its proper function as a wiping medium, the rivets l3 are removed, and a new body 6 is installed between the metal rings I and I2 in an obvious manner.

It is obvious that rigid or semi-rlgid materials other than metal may well be used to form the rings I and I2. Also, that if desired, the ring 12 may be eliminated, provided a suitable positive means be supplied for retaining the body 6 in the ring I.

Obviously the invention is susceptible to some change or alteration without defeating its practicability, and I therefore do not wish to be confined to the preferred embodiment shown in the drawings and described herein, further than I am limited by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A drill stem wiper including: a fiat metal ring having radially spaced dove-tailed cavities in one face; a substantially fiat annular wiping element of resilient material within said ring, said element adapted to surround a drill stem for wiping engagement therewith; radially spaced dove-tailed projections on the periphery of said element, said projections spaced and formed to snugly nest in said cavities; and means for removably anchoring said projections within said cavities.

2. Structure as specified in claim 1, in which said anchoring means includes: a rigid ring bolted to the first ring and impinging the prou jections of said element.

' 3. A drill stem wiper including: an annular wiper element of resilient material having a central bore through which a drill stem may be 4 forced to slide; radially spaced lateral projections on the peripheral edge of said element; a metal ring having superificial cavities formed to closely nest the edge portions and one face of said projections; and means for removably anchoring said projections in said cavities.

4. Structure as specified in claim 3, in which said anchoring means includes: a rigid ring fiatly positioned upon the other face of said projections; and bolts connecting the two rings for impinging said projections.

MOSE A. BRYAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,840,334 Schuster Jan. 12, 1932 1,868,794 Fuller July 26, 1932 2,147,250 Freeman Feb. 14, 1939 2,198,698 Fitzmeyer Apr. 30, 1940 2,215,377 Penfield Sept. 17, 1940 

